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Revised policy brings predictability to base residents
Posted 6/17/2011 Updated 6/17/2011
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by Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
6/17/2011 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Misawa Air Base is currently in its no heat/no cool period. Historically, this energy- and cost-saving period was declared on different dates each year, causing some confusion among base residents as to when heating would be turned on or off. To ease that confusion, the 35th Civil Engineer Squadron has announced a change to the heating and air conditioning policy.
Effective immediately, the new policy sets specific dates for when heat and air conditioning will be turned on and off. In family housing, heat will be turned on from Oct. 15 to Jun. 1. Heat in industrial areas will be turned on from Nov. 15 to Sept. 15. Air conditioning, for those buildings who have it, will be run from July 15 to Sept. 15.
"The new policy looks at historical temperatures and trend lines and sets dates of when heating and air conditioning will be turned on and off," said Capt. Reid Touchberry, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron energy manager. "This gives us more solid data to rely on and takes away the guesswork from the rest of the base populace."
The old policy relied on current weather conditions to determine when heating and air condition would be turned on and off, looking at average temperatures over a set period of days. Not only did this cause confusion among the base populace, but it made planning for routine maintenance difficult, according to Captain Touchberry.
"We have 104 miles of steam line on this base," Captain Touchberry said. "When we don't know when we can turn off the steam to do repairs, it significantly impacts our ability to maintain that infrastructure."
Not only do set dates allow maintainers to plan out necessary maintenance, but it saves a projected $250,000 in energy costs, added Captain Touchberry. The no heat/no cool period, such as the one Misawa is currently in, optimizes those savings.
It's not all about savings however; it's also about user comfort. With that, there are exceptions to policy. Certain buildings that have specific requirements for air conditioning will be authorized use as needed. Additionally, if there are extreme weather conditions, wing leadership can make a judgment to deviate from set dates.
"This wasn't just looking at savings, it was looking at many factors - family housing comfort, maintenance to keep the infrastructure up, save some money, take the guesswork out of it," Captain Touchberry said. "We're hoping it's a more simple system." |
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